No one in New York needs to be told to stay away from the Meatpacking District, that little slice o' damnation by the Hudson just below 14th Street. Why, then, does the place continue to pulse like Sodom, Gomorrah, and the Las Vegas Strip all rolled into a giant distasteful enchilada? The obvious answer — especially if you spend time there — is that the Meatpacking District is increasingly populated by tourists hailing not just from outside Manhattan, but outside New York, or even outside New Jersey. Of course, there's still plenty of local lookie-loos and eager guidos who call the Meatpacking District their second home most every weekend night. They don't even realize that most of their brethren have already moved eastward to befoul what's left of Rivington Street. Therefore, as a public service, we're passing along the only message worth hearing about the Meatpacking District: Stay away. Get out. Don't go. It's that simple. All this week, we'll beat this drum till it carries beyond Manhattan, to the ears that most need to hear the warning.

To start things off, we've created an annotated map of the Meatpacking District and the 30 principal hells to be found there. Hardcore geographists used to limit the Meatpacking to 14th Street on the north, the Hudson River on the west, Hudson Street on the east, and Gansevoort Street on the south. Unfortunately for its neighbors, though, the Meatpacking District's vibe is creeping beyond its borders. Big-name restaurants are climbing 10th Avenue up to 16th Street, and a few other establishments are popping up further east on 14th Street. Our general rule is that if you can see the venue's door crowd from within the original District, it might as well be part of the monster. Feel free to disagree, but better safe than sorry. After the jump, full map of the Meatpacking District and 30 reasons why not.

1. 5 Ninth - Williamsburg chef Zak Pelaccio cooks popular fusion cuisine in a room too small for you to ever get a reservation.

2. Apt. - One of the original "secret" lounges, now overrun with crowds who realize they've been had a mere eight steps from the entrance.

15. Hogs & Heifers - Once had at least a slight claim to legitimate dive-bar status, H&H's rambunctious vibe actually masks a nearly fascist code of frat-boy behavior; one of the easiest places to get painlessly ejected from in all of downtown.

18. Markt - Once little more than a grudgingly accepted fallback if you couldn't get into brunch at Pastis, this place now gets almost as crowded as Pastis due to clueless foot traffic wandering down 14th Street.